Entrepreneurs are passionate, unflagging workers, visionary, different, stimulus-seekers, adrenaline junkies, magicians, job-creators, creative, creators and often brilliant. They are extreme risk-takers and live with high levels of uncertainty.

Their work lives often offer immense satisfaction. Not just the prospect or reality of material wealth, but the opportunity to see visions turn into realities, to make a difference in the world and peoples’ lives.

Yet, self-reports, anecdotal evidence and some early-stage research suggest that entrepreneurs could also be at a higher risk of suicide, divorce, physical illness, burnout and depression

Recently, I wrote a piece in response to a New York Times interview with uber-entrepreneur Elon Musk. He revealed that he had experienced tremendous psychic pain and sleepless work binges that took him away from his family and friends.

Buried in that article were seven rules I offered that entrepreneurs (and other over-burdened, over-achieving leaders and visionaries) should follow to tend to their human selves.

I wanted to follow up and highlight those rules and explain why we all should pay attention to them.

1.You can’t function without sleep

Here are just some of the effects of chronic sleep deprivation: decreased concentration, increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, increased risk of accidents and errors, irritability, anxiety, depression and relationship problems. As if that's not enough, add decreased immune functioning and increased risk of colon cancer. And higher levels of obesity due to increased levels of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, and decreased levels of the hormone leptin which controls appetite.

alice-ralph-259320-unsplash

2. You can’t function without breaks.

That means you have to take breaks in your work during the day, as well as longer breaks like weekends and vacations. Forty-five years ago, experimental psychologist Daniel Kahneman (who later earned a Nobel Prize in economics for his foundational work in behavioral economics) wrote in his first book, Attention and Effort, this pithy summary: "The capacity which can be allocated to various activities is limited."

Breaks are necessary to decrease mental overload so that you can correct errors of perception and judgment. They are necessary for your levels of stress hormones to go down. They are necessary to maintain or restart creative thinking.

3. You have totrust a couple of people.

You have to find someone you can trust to step in and do your job well enough, so you can sleep and take breaks and see your kids and take vacations.

You also need to have a trusted advisor to talk to when you’re uncertain or overwhelmed.

You need someone you trust who can tell you to stop when you should stop. It has to be someone you will actually listen to, which requires a temporary relinquishment of autonomy and power.

That’s at least three people to trust. Not an overwhelming number even for the most dedicated loner.

4. You will be vulnerable to a ubiquitous psychological process called regression.

There will inevitably be times you can’t function at your best—these come for everyone. Emotional and stimulus overload, mini- and micro- traumas and personal vulnerabilities all can lead to a regression to lesser states of functioning. When you’re regressed, you are more likely to be impulsive and to let emotion drive your decisions. Self-regulation capacity is diminished, as is critical thinking. Learn to recognize times you are functioning at a level that is less than your best and find the discipline to avoid making critical decisions or taking consequential actions until you’re back to your usual excellent baseline of functioning. Spend some time reflecting on what triggers these episodes for you. Each person has a unique thumbprint.

5. Have a primary care doctor and see her at least once a year. And listen to her advice.

Chronic stress and sleep deprivation have known effects on your physical health. Some of these will speak up and make you pay attention, like physical pain, GI symptoms and migraine headaches. But others are doing damage silently and cumulatively and can lead to serious chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Treatment of the “noisy” symptoms is important to improve your quality of life and prevent emergencies like bleeding ulcers. Detection of the silent signs that herald future serious illness—abnormal blood lipids or rising blood sugar levels for example—can allow your doctor to initiate early treatment and help prevent future disease. DO NOT, do not, do not kid yourself by thinking that any assortment of supplements or a particular diet (that includes paleo, gluten-free, vegan, anti-inflammatory or anything else that comes along) is an adequate substitute for basic, modern medical care.

6. Protect yourself from an overload of information and input.

Most vital, structure your information flow so that you don't see meaningless negative and cruel comments about you from strangers. You probably know not to engage with trolls or read comments when you write about something controversial. They will be mean and hurtful and strip you of some bit of yourself.

You also need to protect yourself from negativity in your organization. Every leader I’ve worked with has been plagued by a group of negative co-workers that inundate them with complaints, create bottlenecks to progress and act entitled to an inordinate amount of attention. Use second-in-command, your advisor or coach to figure out a system for dealing with them and shielding yourself from the negativity which, if left to buzz around the office, creates a significant drain on your energy.

7. Don’t forget to eat and hydrate.

Do you skip meals? Don’t. And snack in between them. Try to eat some protein and carbs at least every three hours. That means an apple with some nut butter, crackers and cheese, yogurt and fruit. Energy bars are not meals or good snacks.

Skipped meals lead to low blood sugar which leads to irritability and poor concentration. Dehydration leads to decreased concentration, fatigues and depressed mood.

There is an obvious message in these rules. You may be great, powerful and successful but you are still human. That means you cannot escape the realities of the limitations of the human mind and body, which function best when provided with food, rest, sleep, water, trusted other people and an environment engineered to be supportive.

Now, take a break. Stop reading blogs or checking social media. See some friends, go to a movie, and go to bed. You have to listen to me. I'm a doctor and a mom.